Piraeus Bank, the fourth largest lender in Greece, also has operations in Romania.
“Piraeus has two options in Romania right now: merging the two local units or selling ATEbank Romania. A decision will be made in the upcoming period,” sources on the Romanian banking market told MEDIAFAX.
Starting Monday, July 30, the entire network of ATEbank will operate under Piraeus Bank but will keep its commercial band, Piraeus Bank said in a statement.
Together, the two lenders will have assets of EUR75 billion, deposits of EUR35 billion, and a loan portfolio of EUR47 billion.
The Greek state, which owns 77% in ATEbank decided this week to sell the lender. ATEbank, the country’s former agricultural bank, has undergone restructuring to break its portfolio into performing and non-performing assets.
Piraeus Bank had a pre-tax profit of EUR4 million in Romania in the first quarter of the year, while its profit before provision charges stood at EUR33 million. The bank’s assets in Romania decreased 16% on the year in the first quarter, to EUR3.34 billion. At the end of the first quarter, Piraeus had 149 branches and 1,726 employees in Romania.
ATEbank has nearly 500 branches in Greece, 35 in Romania, and one in Germany. The Greek bank owns 93.27% in ATEbank Romania, while Bucharest-based UCECOM owns 3.83%. ATEbank announced in May 2011 it planned to sell its stake in the Romanian unit amid EU-required restructuring.